Artist. A controversial but influential 19th century French history painter, he was born in Senlis, Olse, France and moved to Paris with his family in 1826, where he studied at the École des Arts et Métiers and later at the École des Beaux-Arts. He received a second-place award in the Prix de Rome in 1837 and considered that a failure. He began exhibiting his paintings at the Paris Salon in 1840, receiving seven medals for his works, including his masterpiece "Romans During the Decadence" receiving the first-place award in 1847. He never duplicated this success even with commissions from Napoleon III and other aristocrats. Addressing man's behavior, several of his controversial paintings were nude orgies. He was known to combine the soft, 18th-century coloring with a strict 19th-century classicism in his most important work. He then opened his own art studio, teaching such notable painters as Édouard Manet, Henri Fantin-Latour, John La Farge, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, Karel Javůrek, and Joseph-Noel Sylvestre. In 1867 he published a book entitled "Méthode et entretiens d'atelier" that described his own artistic ideas and working methods. His other notable works include the 1852 portrait "Anselm Feuerbach," "The Duel After the Masked Ball" and "Pierrot the Politician" in 1857, "Daydreams" in 1859, and "The Thorny Path" in 1873. He died in Villiers-le-Bel, Val-d'Oise, France at the age of 63.
Artist. A controversial but influential 19th century French history painter, he was born in Senlis, Olse, France and moved to Paris with his family in 1826, where he studied at the École des Arts et Métiers and later at the École des Beaux-Arts. He received a second-place award in the Prix de Rome in 1837 and considered that a failure. He began exhibiting his paintings at the Paris Salon in 1840, receiving seven medals for his works, including his masterpiece "Romans During the Decadence" receiving the first-place award in 1847. He never duplicated this success even with commissions from Napoleon III and other aristocrats. Addressing man's behavior, several of his controversial paintings were nude orgies. He was known to combine the soft, 18th-century coloring with a strict 19th-century classicism in his most important work. He then opened his own art studio, teaching such notable painters as Édouard Manet, Henri Fantin-Latour, John La Farge, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, Karel Javůrek, and Joseph-Noel Sylvestre. In 1867 he published a book entitled "Méthode et entretiens d'atelier" that described his own artistic ideas and working methods. His other notable works include the 1852 portrait "Anselm Feuerbach," "The Duel After the Masked Ball" and "Pierrot the Politician" in 1857, "Daydreams" in 1859, and "The Thorny Path" in 1873. He died in Villiers-le-Bel, Val-d'Oise, France at the age of 63.
Bio by: William Bjornstad
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